Stop the Lawlessness In Russia

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

We would like to address in person to the Secretary-General of the United Nations as the head of the most important international organization.

To the other UN members, first of all, to the permanent members of the UN Security Council, as well as other Security Council members,

We hereby address to you with the aim to draw your attention to the problem of civic extinguishing of public characters/civic activists in Russia, which is accomplished by means of their physical removal, fabricated subjection to liability for criminal offense and other unlawful methods.

We ask you to unite your efforts and apply all internationally available leverages of pressure as regards Russian Federation authorities in the person of the President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Russian government, power structures and their regional bodies, as they have created the machine to eliminate not only journalists, civic activists, but all the non-conformity in Russia.

Today, all possible human rights in Russia have been trampled - both stipulated in the Russian Constitution or international conventions. The rights to freedom of speech, freedom of public gatherings, freedom of conscience and other human rights have become an empty word in Russia.

As a fresh example to support this view, the arrest of Dmitriy Chernov can be given. Dmitriy is an active public character of the Russian South, who has been arrested on 27^th February 2013, by an operative group of The Center for Fight Against Extremism. He is being incriminated an act of crime as per the article 157 of the Criminal Code of Russian Federation (“Willful evasion of child or disabled parents support”). By the way, somewhat earlier, the law enforcement authorities have imposed arrest on the banking accounts of Dmitriy Chernov, so that he was by no means able to fulfill any of his financial duties, which clearly indicates that this arrest was made in execution of someone’s order and not a due diligence exercised by the authorities.

Dmitriy Chernov is a public figure in Stavropol Krai, took part in hunger strike against non-admission of opposition candidates to elections in Lermontov city. In August 2012, Chernov also visited Saratov, within the framework of the “Belyi Potok” (“White Stream”) protest movement. Later, he has also taken part in election campaign of RPR-PARNAS to Saratov oblast Duma of Vth convocation. After mass fraud that have taken place during the presidential 14^th October elections, Chernov has chained himself with handcuffs to a safe on the election district # 302, in a protest against election law violations.

There are hundreds of such precedents, all around the Russia, and we can no more talk about selective (in)justice, but about explicit order from the Center that the enforcement authorities are executing.

Looking at reaction of the international institutions towards similar human rights violations spotted in other countries, we cannot understand the current, obviously biased attitude and turning a blind eye towards the Russian Federation authorities. Why a state situated in very neighborhood to the Europe, a state that has ratified all international human rights conventions is allowed to freely violate those rights and freedoms without any reaction from the part of international institutions or leading European countries?

We address to all honorable and noble people of the West to support our appeal for STOPPING THE LAWLESSNESS IN RUSSIA. We ask you to spread this message everywhere possible and appropriate – in news agencies, human rights defense organizations and other international or national organization, among your friends and acquaintances, - to influence and ultimately change the attitude towards the human rights in Russia. We also hope that civic activist Dmitriy Chernov will be released alive and sound from the millstones of Russia’s punitive system.

With best regards,

Citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and other CIS and Eastern Europe countries